After dropping my son at school I spent a couple of hours at Pennington Marsh before work, it was a lovely sunny morning and I planned to walk a short loop out to Fishtail Lagoon and back east. When I got to Fishtail Lagoon two Grey Phalarope that had been found yesterday were showing superbly well in the south-east corner of the lagoon and so I spent some time with these fantastic little birds as they fed at close quarters. A Woodlark flew over heading south, a new site bird for me.
The time was pushing on and so I headed quickly out to Keyhaven Lagoon, which was somewhat disappointing as is so often the case, and then headed back east along the seawall seeing a couple of Yellow Wagtail and Bearded Tit.
My eBird checklist can be viewed here.
Grey Phalarope - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
Grey Phalarope - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
Grey Phalarope - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
Meadow Pipit - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
Yellow Wagtail - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
On reaching home, I checked my phone and to my shock the top message was 'Wilson's Phalarope showing well at west end of Fishtail Lagoon', reported at 11:15 I must have walked right past this bird at around 10:15. Absolutely gutted! I sat at my desk and completed some urgent work, the rest can wait till later and I headed back down to Pennington. After a slightly mad drive and a quick dash along the seawall I was watching this superb and very confiding Wilson's Phalarope as it fed amongst the rush in the west corner of Fishtail - I was made up. A fantastic bird that I have only seen a handful of times before, the last in the UK being the summer plumaged female just across the water at Yarmouth on 21st June 2013.
My eBird checklist and additional photograph's of the Wilson's can be viewed
here.
Wilson's Phalarope - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
Wilson's Phalarope - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh
